How To Avoid Alcohol in College

I’ve written in the past about how the straight-edge approach to college can be both beneficial and alienating.  If you decide to live sober, you’ll need to find ways to avoid alcohol, especially on a college campus.  How do you still spend time with your friends when they want to drink?  

85 to 95 percent of American college students report drinking alcohol regularly.      Therefore, even if your friends don’t directly pressure you to drink, you might still feel left out due to your firm decision against alcohol.  Drinking in excess and peer pressure can be strong temptations, but if you want to stay sober, you must stand by your decision with firmness and resolve.

Another way to avoid alcohol is to consider the negative consequences before drinking.  You can lose control of your actions, damage your reputation, get sick, harm yourself and others.  If you are a girl, the potential for date rape is present.  Also, drinking is an expensive habit.

When you tell to your friends that you do not have an interest in drinking, be very careful in the way you communicate.  By taking a stance against alcohol, you bring into question a common college activity, and this can be interpreted as condescending, judgmental, or anti-social.  Be able to state your reasons for your choice, but still indicate that you don’t judge or look down upon those who want to experiment and “have fun”.  Do not avoid questions about why you choose not to drink, but don’t parade your sober lifestyle either.  In other words, acknowledge that they have made their choice, you have made yours, and let bygones be bygones. 

Once you decide to reject alcohol, stick with your choice.  You might look like a hypocrite when you take a firm position against liquor and then binge-drink soon after, even if it’s “just one time.”  Ultimately, people, even those that drink, will respect you for following your principles and beliefs.  It may not be easy or comfortable, but if you strongly desire to stay away from alcohol, you must stick with your commitment.  

Finally, do things that don’t involve drinking.  Movie nights, game nights, concerts, and visits to coffee shops are four examples of fun activities that will allow you to socialize in an alcohol-free environment.  Remember, you don’t need alcohol to have a good time.


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